American Honey, Russian Bees, and the Work of the AHPA with Steven Coy (405)

Steven Coy returns to Beekeeping Today for a wide-ranging conversation about the challenges facing American beekeepers—and the role genetics may play in building more resilient colonies.

Steven is president of the American Honey Producers Association and a longtime commercial beekeeper and Russian honey bee breeder. He begins by explaining how the AHPA represents commercial beekeepers through advocacy, Farm Bill work, anti-dumping efforts, and programs such as ELAP. He also discusses the proposed Honey Integrity Act and why the industry wants a federal standard of identity for honey.

The conversation also examines declining U.S. honey production, imported honey, consumer confidence, and efforts to encourage consumers to buy American honey and support domestic beekeepers and pollination agriculture.

In the second half, Steven takes Jeff and Becky inside his Mississippi operation and nearly three decades of experience with Russian honey bees. He discusses Varroa resistance, wintering, brood production, honey production, defensive behavior, and why resistant stock still requires thoughtful mite management.

Steven also makes the case for evaluating genetics at the apiary level, explaining why mite drift and surrounding colonies can mask the advantages of resistant stock.

Websites from the episode and others we recommend:

American Honey Producers Association: https://ahpanet.com

Russian Honey Bee Breeders: https://www.russianhoneybeebreeders.org

Steven's Book about Russan Honey Bees at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Vuipui

Honey Bee Health Coalition: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org Project Apis m. (PAm): https://www.projectapism.org The National Honey Board: https://honey.com Honey Bee Obscura Podcast: https://honeybeeobscura.com

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